Not many general counsels will declare that their company’s COBRA notice is what keeps them awake at night. Yet, as recent class action litigation reveals, challenges to COBRA notices and issues that present themselves can be simply addressed to evade complex litigation.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides employees and their families who lose their health benefits due to certain events, such as job loss, divorce, or death, the ability to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for a limited time. To ensure that eligible individuals know their rights and the steps they must take to protect these rights, employers and plan administrators are legally required to provide eligible individuals with COBRA election notices.
Unfortunately, recent lawsuits epitomize the high stakes of overlooking crucial COBRA notification requirements. As a result, these lawsuits expose potential pitfalls for companies who fail to meet the required standards, or those who simply neglect to regularly review and update their COBRA notice form.
If you have not reviewed your COBRA notice recently, now may be a good time to reassess it, or to have an in-depth discussion with your COBRA plan administrator. Actively ensuring compliance to COBRA’s guidelines isn’t just a legal requirement but also a valuable precautionary measure against unnecessary litigation.
Click here for a deeper dive into some recent class action litigation revolving around COBRA notices, as well as advice from legal experts at Carlton Fields on how to best manage this risk.